Space to colors! And thinking about the transition period between the end of the summer season and the beginning of autumn, I choose the yellow

Until you think about it, you don’t realize how many important and pleasant things in life are yellow L. Gallienne

Yellow is said to be the ‘color of intelligence! It is associated with the left side of our brain because it stimulates the intellectual side, it is the color of creativity, of visual memory. In the kitchen, in the living room and in the bathroom it is declined in mustard tones (which I also used for my study).

Yellow is the color of the sun, spring daffodils and sunflower fields.

It’s fresh and sour like lemon and blond as honey. Exotic precious in its splendor, it is the color of ochre of saffron amber and sulfur.

He’s rebellious and carefree: stimulating-exuberant-energetic-optimistic… celebrating life!

It is a strong color: tonic, warm but not exciting.

Yellow is shown in its qualities as a color with an ambivalent meaning and in everyday life arouses a relative interest: it is a discreet color and little appreciated symbolically, unlike the past (until the Middle Ages) which was considered as a sacred color, symbol of light, heat, wealth.

There was the y. buono which was expressed in the shade of y. lemon and the bad one in y. orange. Even today the y. tending to green is perceived as something acidic, toxic, poisonous, while contrary to the past, the y. which is close to orange, is tonic, healthy, beneficial.

It is used in common language with specific meanings: for the record, when an event is not little understandable immediately becomes ‘a mystery’. There were the ‘yellow’ pages and taxis (Italy). The chrome yellow of the ‘sunflowers’ by Van Gogh, as a color of rebellion became a symbol of a certain historical period, of rejection, in Victorian values and as an anti-bourgeois transgression.

In the symbolism of colors, what applies to Europe does not apply to other parts of the world. The use of various pigments (ochre) and dyes (saffron, turmeric) have been abundantly used in dyes in Asia: in India it is linked to spirituality, used in Buddhism and by the population as a source of happiness that drives away the forces of evil, in China represented the color of imperial clothing.This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is image-17.png

Taking some cues from the book ‘Sentimental Atlas of Colors’ by K. St Clair, how many yellows exist? So many! From the past to today, the most considered:

Blond – represents, in the West, the ideal hair color: the use in advertising in an excessive way, the idea of the ideal beauty…

Yellow-line – for centuries (400′-700′) important color in painting and then fell into disuse, leaving room for ‘y. Napoli‘ (it concerns the shade close to acid green) which is one of the first synthetic pigments, not stable (lead antimoniate)

Indian Y. arrived in Europe in the late 700′ from the East through the trade of the British Empire in the Indies, as well as the ‘gommagutta‘, a resin similar to the caramel mou, delivered in the form of powdery spheres of mustard color. The origin of this pigment quite controversial: it was thought to be derived from the urine of cows feeding on mango leaves.

Y. Orpimento – a mineral, an arsenic sulfide, used in alchemy and therefore similar to gold (already in use in ancient Egypt).

Imperial Y. – considered for a millennium, a special color: it was associated with the earth (in the theory of the 5 elements), ‘the color of those who command’. It ceased to be a talisman with the fall of the empire.

And finally the Y. GOLD! It’s always been the color of reverence, both the one you give to others and the one you claim for yourself. Part of its charm comes from its lack of availability and its unbalanced distribution. It was coveted, it created awe and admiration in itself. Its symbolic value has left its mark even in the language : the golden age, a golden girl, take something for ‘poured gold’, sweet dreams,…

For the reflecting light it was also used in brocade fabrics: silk or linen yarns with gold threads as in ancient painting, emblem of deities and modern (Klimt in the portrait of Adele Bloch-Bouer).

In the furniture lends itself to be mixed with other colors, can enrich a space with light. It’s an accessory or dominant color in a neutral pattern. It is interesting in its warm, spicy or nuanced tones, honey or some earthy hues, mixed with some oranges (for an intense palette) or diluted with pale pink or still with dark greens and brown mahogany. With black and dark gray is strong and precious contrast, emotionally beautiful!

I like yellow in all its variations and above all, in yellow ocher!

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Palette Colors proposed by the designer Rebecca Atwood Taken from the book

From the world of chakras, energy centers of our body (7 the main along the spine) the third is associated with yellow. Fire and sun: visualize and make your sun shine! In terms of emotions thoughts situations is connected to our personal value, which is related to who we are and not what we attribute (or what others attribute) to what we do. The associated body parts: chest, diaphragm, stomach. (by Lucia Primo color physiotherapist). 

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